Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 1).djvu/85

 cases, enriched weapons worthy of the closest scrutiny, for they are the very type depicted in the Anglo-Saxon and early Norman illuminations.

(a and b) Reverse and obverse views of the hilt; (c) the same sword, giving its general proportions

In addition to these authentic swords of Saxon times there are many famous swords with mythical histories attached to them, which have always been considered to belong to very early dates, even prior to that with which we are now dealing. Chief amongst them are the two St. Maurice swords, respectively in the Royal Armoury of Turin and the Imperial Treasury of Vienna, and the two swords of Charlemagne, one in the Louvre of Paris and